tolasfandomcom-20200213-history
The Experience Perplexion
The following is an excerpt from the book My Meeting with a Mind Flayer, specifically the chapter The Experience Perplexion written by famed scholar, historian and explorer Sedwin Barami from Mangmor. Excerpt My third meeting with Xar-Bazun lasted longer than the second, but not nearly as long as our first encounter, though this time I was the one asking questions rather than him. I also did not inflict the 'discomforts' that he subjected me to during his questioning. '' "''What is-", I began, but he interrupted me, his voice slithering into my mind like one of his dark tentacles. "It is memories Sedwin. That is what I consume, the minds of mortals are like treasures, the potential for...(he trailed off, distracted by the shadow of fish swimming in the pool he sat in. I stood, the dark waters up to my shins, tiny unseen creatures nibbling at the dark hairs of my legs. "That is what he saw in you (unsure of who he was talking about but I did not want to interrupt him), your potential. Infinite...", again he trailed off, reaching slowly into the water with his long nails that seemed to wiggle and twist like his horrible face. "When life was created..." (he suddenly jerked causing me to lunge back fearing he was breaking his word to leave me unharmed, but it was just to snatch the catfish he had been pursuing with his glowing eyes)"...mortals took more than their fair share" (he drew the fish's gaping mouth towards his face, seemingly unfazed by my reaction, his tentacles tentatively reaching out to the suffocating beasts own whiskers all illuminated in a pale blue by his glowing eyes). '' ''"Your ancestors were formed from the nothing, and from the first life you clung, like the elements, desperately forming around that which had formed before, your minds grew from that, becoming more than those lesser creatures before." (he gently squeezed the fish, a dribble of slime and water bubbled out of its mouth). "When you were finished, unlike the beasts..."(he turned to me, gesturing with the two foot long creature, which I could now see was blind)"...you had taken more than the sliver that allows you draw breath" (the fish's mouth opened and closed ceaselessly, as one would desperate to suck in the air). "You took something small, some say it was the wind mother (?), or the fire that gave you the chance..."(he lifted the fish above his head, exposing the white underbelly that pulsed with a regular rhythm) "...but you took it...thieves..." (He seemed to whisper this last word, and remained silent as he lowered the fish, half of it laying out of the water). "So that then is what we feed on, your...brains (he seemed to have difficulty actually saying this word)...are just a vessel..." (the fish jerked and struggled in the water, feeling the chance of freedom, but still he held on with his dark, cruel hands). "...but we are not the only ones to feed on this force. You, and your kin, also consume this potential. The life force of creatures is stolen everyday, in wars and street brawls. When a man outwits another, he has taken the other's experience, perhaps not as...violently...as my kin would..." (the fish was now thrashing quite violently, I imagine if Xar-Bazun had been speaking out loud I would have struggled to have heard him). "You, yourself Sedwin..." (his face turned to me, vacant to the plight of the creature in his hands) "...have overcome obstacles...I see them now...(images of my adventures flashed through my mind, the pain, the joy, the elation and the terror caused me to slash out at a dozen dead foes that suddenly lunged at me, though I found myself still in the dark cave with Xar-Bazun staring at me from across the disturbed waters) "...from them you became who you are now...stronger...able to strike harder...faster...your mind is not that of a common narch hand..." (an image of a beast of burden appeared in my head, akin to a horse but with a long neck and horns atop its head, I am unsure of what he meant by this) "...you have taken lives, defeated opponents, convinced others of your words, uncovered mysteries and answered unsolvable riddles." (The fish's movements began to slow, whether out of exhaustion or realization of the futility of its actions I could not say) "Yes I have", I replied out loud, "these are all true, but I merely learned from these experience, I did not drain anyone's life force or consume their minds like-" "AH! But you did Sedwin! You stole their memories-THIEF!" (He seemed excited at this revelation, as if the knowledge's effect on me suddenly made me more interesting, the fish drew his attention as it entered into its death throws). "Even this creature hold life...memory...potential..." (there was a sickening crunch and the fish's efforts ceased, Xar-Bazun's hands were covered in the creatures' organs, his nails digging through its stomach, severing through flesh and bone). '' ''It is from here that I witnessed one of the strangest sights of my life. Xar-Bazun drew forth the beast's skull, gently wrapping his tendrils around its face and began to eat. The creature's memories took shape as he consumed, the tiny ounce of life being trapped within its broken body so that he could better drain every last morsel of its mind. He dropped the fish, its lifeless corpse slacking hard against the surface, bounding up and down with what little air remained in its severed body until it sank beneath the inky black waters. The Mind Flayer stayed where he was, and did not speak in my mind again until after he was done, but their remained a thin telepathic link between us, likely him 'watching' me, but through it I felt the life force that he toyed with. It was like a bird's heartbeat, thrumming without end, but with nothing to fuel it seemed to be spilling away, only the magicks of Xar-Bazun keeping it bound to a single form, though still shapeless light. I felt it die. The false heartbeat ceased. A deafening silence was left in its wake, broken only as the Mind Flayer made satisfied noises, as someone that has partaking of a rich dessert. '' ''"You see Sedwin?" I left as he finished his meal, and did not return until the next day. Category:In-World Concepts